How Hard Is It To Learn To Play Piano?

Piano Lessons Near Me Dowling MI 49050

Learning how to play the piano is one of those things that we need guidance on for sure, and our primary thought might possibly be to find a local piano teacher. This is a superb thought however it also gives us obstacles we had not thought of. For instance, if perhaps we live in a quiet location away from a city in that case it may very well be pretty hard to find precisely the style of coaching need. The piano teacher might actually be remarkably good, however does he or she specialize in the style of tunes that in fact you are interested in, that’s the main question.

Piano Lessons Near Me Dowling MI 49050

You can’t disregard the issue of pricing and private tutors are not cheap, up to fifty bucks per hour in some areas, which actually is a whole lot of money in anyone’s language. The highest-quality online courses have a big systemof lessons in their software, in most cases divided up into the musical classes of classical, jazz, boogie and popular. For youngsters wanting to learn the most recent hits, this is absolutely ideal. Often times, local piano instructors are more senior school professors giving private lessons to make make a little extra money and really don’t actually know the most up-to-datesongs at all, unless you are very fortunate.

A further concern is time and convenience. In the event that you work then in that case you have to try to find a slot that suits both of you and additionally incorporate the travel time into the formula (in addition to the cost of travelling!) It really is simple to see that employing a local piano tutor isn’t all that it’s seems to be, except if you are a flourishing Mozart or alternatively a girl or boy genius, in which case you would positively need specialist private tuition. For the rest of us, who really want to learn the piano songs welove relatively rapidly, so we can have a little fun, on-line courses can fit the bill.

What is the best way to teach yourself piano?

I don’t know how many of these people here actually PLAY classical piano at an advanced level, but as a classical pianist for nearly 40 years, I’m telling you that getting a teacher trained in classical piano technique is vital if that is what you want to do. Classical piano is far more demanding physically than any other kind of piano, and poor or nonexistent technique WILL cause injury. So a teacher is vital. You will need to learn how to position your hands, fingers, arms, wrist. You will have to learn proper posture so that you don’t put undue strain on your body and so that you make efficient use of your energy. The lesson should be one on one in person-not a video or anything that isn’t interactive. This is so the teacher can customize the lesson just for you. Different people have different body/arm/hand structure, and the teacher has to be able to see what you are doing so that he/she can correct you.

Piano Lessons Near Me Dowling MI 49050

Yes, technique can be boring. But mastering it is just as important as developing musicality. Just because something is boring doesn’t mean it isn’t worth doing, and once you master the technique, it won’t be boring. Without technique, your ability to present a piece that is up to expected standards musically speaking without causing injury will be compromised.

If you cannot master the technique, you will not be able to:

Play one hand softer than the other. If you cannot do this, you cannot play classical music well-it will simply sound one dimensional without any color, artistry or subtlety of any kind. I cannot think of any classical piece that DOESN’T require the pianist to be able to play one hand softer than the other. And you should be able to do that for both hands. 80% of the time, the left plays softer than the right due to the fact that the bass notes will overwhelm the treble notes if they are played at the same volume and the melody most of the time is contained in the treble clef, but there is that 20% where you have to be able to do it the other way around.

Beethoven’s “Waldstein” Sonata, third movement, is a very good example of this switch. It doesn’t sound that way on a recording, but that melody the first time at the beginning before it is repeated with octaves is played exclusively by the left hand, with the added twist of having to cross the left hand over the right to play that melody with the left hand. Beethoven also does this with his “Pathetique” Sonata, 1st movement, only with this one, it is the right hand that crosses the left, with the right hand playing the melody. Pull up a YouTube video of either of these pieces, and you’ll see what I mean. To put it very bluntly, classical pieces played without any contrast between the left and the right hand will be absolute garbage to listen to.

Emphasize one note over the other with the same hand-this is very important in many classical pieces where the melody is contained in the fourth or fifth fingers with figures or chording played simultaneously by the remaining fingers. Not being able to do this will mean the melody will get lost, and the coloring of the piece will be at best less than optimal to downright unlistenable (see the aforementioned “garbage” sobriquet). Listen to pieces like the “Moonlight Sonata”, first movement, or Chopin’s “Harp Etude” for examples. In both of these cases, the melody is carried in the fourth or fifth fingers of the right hand with the underlying figures being created by the other fingers of the right hand, with the left hand much softer than the right. If you cannot bring out the melody over the moving figures, you may as well not play these pieces-you will ruin them. It will simply be a mass of notes.

Perform scales, leaps, and arpeggios smoothly, fluidly, and with the dynamics, accuracy, and speed required with both hands. BOTH the right and left hands have to be able to perform scales/arpeggios, leaps, ornaments like trills and turns with the properties above. A top of the line classical pianist will have no discernable differences in the capability of each hand in this area-technical demands as listed above will sound the same regardless of the hand being used.

Perform octave/chord work smoothly, fluidly, with the dynamics, accuracy, and speed required with both hands. See the note for the scales/leaps,etc. requirement. Good examples of this would be Scott Joplin’s “Maple Leaf” rag-the left hand does octave/chord leaps through the entire piece. While not classical music, a person who is not trained in classical music will probably find that piece VERY difficult to play well. Chopin’s “Military” Polonaise is also a good example of expectations regarding the performance of chords in classical music.

Play many long pieces all the way through without thoroughly tiring yourself out/injuring yourself over the long haul. Pieces like the “Winter Wind” and the “Revolutionary” Etude by Chopin (again, pull it up on YouTube) will whip your butt if you don’t have the technique to play efficiently enough to conserve energy and not have undue tension. Even with good technique, it tests your endurance. With bad technique, you definitely won’t make it.

Even the simplest classical pieces require all of the above as far as technique is concerned. Excepting the Maple Leaf Rag, which isn’t a classical piece, the ones I’ve listed are very advanced pieces, but they are part of the standard piano repertoire for advanced pianists, and most serious pianists do play at least one or two of the listed pieces. If you want to study classical piano, at some point as you progress, you will probably be learning any of the above.

All of the above contributes to the pianist’s ability to convey the music in all of its colors and moods in an efficient manner. The higher the level of technique, the more the pianist can do to bring out the subtleties of the music and to express the music in a way that it needs to be expressed. There is a reason classical pianists spend so much time developing technique.

I don’t care what anyone says, there are NO shortcuts for the serious student of classical piano who wants to perform these pieces in a manner that won’t get them laughed at or booed. If you are hearing there are you are hearing bullshit. If you want to play classical music well, you have to put yourself through the grind with a qualified teacher who can observe you and help you, and practice a LOT. If you don’t want to do that, play something else.

If all you want to do is bang out the notes to “Fur Elise” so that you can show your friends you are one level up from the “Chopsticks” crowd, then yeah, go with the YouTube lessons and the “play what you love and forget the boring stuff” zeitgist. But if you want to perform classical music with some level of artistry then you have to pay the price, and that price is mastering the technique.

Show me a person who says technique isn’t important, and I’ll show you a subpar classical pianist who probably has injuries, or who thinks having just enough technique to bang out a pop tune is analogous to what a classical musician has to do. Other types of music may not require the same level of technique, but with classical music, you cannot have musicality without technique. You cannot. Period.

The soundboard of my grand piano is covered with a thick layer of dust. Can you clean this for me? Of course. Cleaning the soundboard is quite tricky as it involves getting a cleaning pad underneath the strings. Trying to clean it using a vacuum cleaner just won’t work – you can try blowing the dust towards the bass end and wiping up what accumulates there which will get some of the looser material out, but the heavier, greasy dust will stick. I carry some specialist cleaning rods which are perfect for wiping the soundboard over its entire area but please ask me to do this before I tune your piano! Some of the strings are likely to get knocked which will put them out of tune…

Old or new pianos best?

My grandmother’s old Collard and Collard grand is about to passed down to me, much anticipated by my son who is about to take his Grade 6 exams. I had intended buying a decent piano but now I’m not sure which to go for – much loved old or good quality new. Help! Collard & Collard were a well respected make of piano many years ago and your grandmother’s grand piano is likely to be a rather elderly example which has rather outlived its sell by date. It is common for piano owners to become very attached to their old family piano and allow sentimental value to cloud their judgement when assessing the condition and quality of the instrument. Very occasionally it has been maintained admirably well and is worth the effort in preserving it for another few years of happy service to the family. More often than not, the passing of the years will have seen the tone fade and the action deteriorate to the point where it is positively difficult to play with expression or enjoyment. No matter how loved the piano is, how many happy memories are associated with it or how beautifully the casework has aged, it is time for a new piano. If in doubt, why not ask a reputable tuner (preferably PTA qualified) to give you his honest opinion before you tell him your attachment to the piano? Grade 6 level piano deserves the very best you can provide if you are not to hinder your son’s musical progress. Hanging on to an old, unsatisfactory piano might just prevent him from reaching the…

Effect of environment

I recently inherited my Grandmother’s piano and, having moved it into my house, found it is not the same piano at all – the tuning is awful and notes are sticking – can moving a piano really have such a drastic effect on its condition? This is actually quite a common problem and is partly due to the moving process but more to do with the change in environment to which the piano has been subjected. Moving a piano, even from one room to another, can upset the tuning just because the temperature might be different, or because it catches the evening sun, or it’s now sitting in a draught. It is quite possible that, if the piano has been kept in an unheated or barely heated front parlour for many years and is then moved suddenly into a warm centrally heated house, this type of problem will occur or indeed, be almost inevitable. Dampness and even mildew can lie dormant deep inside the piano without appearing to have any effect until it is moved into a warmer, drier environment where the piano will mysteriously develop classic symptoms of damp such as sticking notes or a sluggish action. The only solution is to wait until the piano has completely acclimatised to its new position before having it properly tuned and repaired which may possibly entail quite a major…

Cleaning

When my tuner takes off the casework to tune my piano I notice how dirty and dusty it is inside. Is there anything I can do to keep the piano clean myself? Treat your piano like a valuable piece of furniture: keep it clean and avoid standing drinks, vases of flowers, or potted plants on it. Spilled liquids can cause serious damage, the repair of which may amount to a serious overhaul. New pianos are generally finished in polyester which requires only to be wiped over with an anti-static cloth or special cleaning preparation, definitely no wax polish! Unless you are very confident in what you are attempting, it is probably best to leave the inside of the instrument to the care of your tuner. Even removing the top door, fall, and bottom door can prove problematic as can replacing them properly. The dust and debris you can see when the tuner is working on your piano is best left where it is, not causing any problems. Dust tends to settle inside where it does no harm and moving it around could change that delicate balance; it takes only a small bit of grit to jam two keys together. That said, if your piano is really dirty, ask the tuner to clean it for you. At least if he knocks the delicate action out of kilter, he will be able to put it right…

Humidity

I have had my Steinberg upright piano for over 40 years during which time it has been regularly tuned every 6 months. Recently, however, the strings in the upper register go considerably flat two weeks after tuning. What could be causing this? If the tunings over the last 40 years have been stable and have only recently become less so then you will need to look closely at what may have changed. Assuming the piano has not been moved then the most obvious thing to look for is a change in the heating system of the house. Anything which affects the temperature and most importantly, the humidity of the room in which the piano is kept is likely to have a detrimental effect on the piano.

Has the central heating changed in some way? A more efficient boiler or new radiators, even the installation of double glazing may dry the air to the degree that the wrest plank (the block of laminated wood which holds the wrest, or tuning, pins tightly in place) becomes over seasoned or too dry which in turn causes the pins to become loose and unable to hold the high tension required to keep the strings at pitch. The fact that in your case the top treble seems to be affected most might indicate the presence of an over efficient radiator near that end of the piano. If you are very lucky, removing the source of heat (e.g. turning that radiator off) may restore the wrest plank to its former condition. Otherwise there are several options which you must discuss with your tuner.

It just does not mount up, once you evaluate the price of a personal regional piano teacher and also the best online piano lessons. On top of the cost, also and you have to visit suit a session directly into you schedule. The important thing listed here is the pupil has to suit across the agendas, that is false with web piano classes of the teacher. Understanding piano online becomes a delight and guarantees quick advance.